A New Lifestyle

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again my dear radio friend. How in the world are you? Yes, I used the singular noun because I think of individuals, really. I’m not talking just to a bunch of people, but I think of individuals whom I know and concerning whom I pray and that’s why I said my radio friend. And you are one aren’t you? Bless your heart. It’s your good friend, Bob Cook, and I’m back together with you once again for these few moments that we invest in looking at the Word of God and trying to put a handle on it so that you can get a hold of it for yourself.

We’re in 2 Peter chapter 3 and Peter just asked this question, everything is going to be burned up come judgment day. Our Lord Jesus is going to pull the trigger on the atomic bomb of the universe and it will be gone in a flash, “What’s going to be left?” Seeing, he said then in verse 11, “That all these things shall be dissolved.” When you look at your possessions just remember — well, go back to that. When you look at people, remember God wants them saved and when you look at your possessions remember they’ll all be gone. Only that which is eternal will remain. Because that is so, he says, “What manner of persons ought ye to be?” Now, first of all, he says, “In all holy conversation,” that’s our word, lifestyle. In a holy lifestyle that takes in everything you do, all holy conversation means a holy lifestyle that takes in everything you do, holiness.

And then he said holy conversation and godliness and we could change that word and call it heavenliness. Godliness is the quality of God in your life. So holiness and heavenliness and then he says, “looking for and hasting under the coming of the day of God”, and that’s hope. “We look for new heavens and new earth where indwelleth righteousness”, and that’s hope.

Alright, do you want to talk about holiness? Holy lifestyle, how do you achieve that? As I look at it, it boils down to something quite simple. It simply means to let God dominate every part of all of your lifestyle. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be pious about everything. You can’t be very pious about carrying out the garbage, unless you bow your head and say, “Oh Lord why do I have to do this?” (Chuckles). No. There are a lot of things about which you can’t be pious or officially religious.

You go to work in the morning singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” at the top of your voice, you’ll be in personnel office by 10 o’clock and then the hands of the gentleman in the white coats by 11 if you don’t cut it out. You can’t be officially religious in lots of situations in life. But you can be holy. Now, what is that? Holiness means set apart for God to use.

That is to say the mind with which I think is His to think His thoughts through me. The tongue that I use to speak is His to speak His word through me. The steps I take are guided by His will. The work I do is done for His glory. “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him,” Paul says in Colossians 3:17. So the work I do is done for His glory. Holiness is the condition of having every part of all of your life set apart for God to use.

My father had some interesting quirks in his thinking. He really wasn’t very much interested in cars. He’d rather ride a bicycle, in which he did almost all his life until glaucoma robbed him of his sight, and it was a sad day for him, when at about the age, I suppose, 75 or 76, he had to lay the bike aside because he couldn’t see any longer to ride. But there came a time because he had a teenage boy that was I; he had a teenage boy that was interested in mechanical things, he finally yielded to the entreaties. And we bought an old model T sedan and I fixed that up and traded it for something a little better.

So that when I went away to Moody as a boy of 16, he had a little 91 model Overland. To any of you old people, it really goes back ways out. I promise you that. That was 1928 when I went away to Moody Bible Institute and the car itself, I think, it was a 1921 model or something like that. A little 91 Overland. It had a cow-catcher spring structure in the front, a great hand that covered some angled springs. That was the first approach to knee action springing, I guess, independent springing. It was a comfortable car to drive actually and it had a tiny engine that just wouldn’t quit.

They explained it to me one time when I was talking to a mechanic about it. He said that the crankshaft was set a couple of notches off of the dead center of the cylinder so that when the gasoline exploded in the cylinder the piston was already part way on its way down, and that gave it a better chance to have what we call torque or pulling power. Tiny little dinner bucket engine in there and it just wouldn’t quit. Well, I fixed it up, put in — you men who fix cars, do you ever remember the simplex piston ring? That was a piston ring that was made of iron with a Babbit bearing face on it that would adapt itself to irregularities in the cylinder wall. You wouldn’t have to bore out the cylinder if you put in simplex rings because they would take care of it.

And so I did that just before I left for Moody. I put in new simplex piston rings and new valves and new main bearings and overhauled the whole thing, and it ran pretty well, I must say. Well, my father drove that, I guess, quite literally, drove the wheels off of it. It had wooden spoke wheels. And after a while they gave up and he couldn’t drive it any longer. He got himself another car. If this story seems long, it’s because it is. But I’m coming to a point.

He was always a little critical of people who spent money on cars, including me. You know, he just never quite got too blessed on that. But when I came back from Moody on vacation one time, lo and behold, he’d gotten another car. What kind was it? Well, it was a Whippet. And here, again, you’ll have to reach back into your memory back into the late 1920s. A very nice little car modeled after European styling and well-built and he’d gotten it somewhere and was driving it. Well, I said “Pop, bless your heart. You’ve finally gave in and got yourself a good car.”

Well, he said “My boy, I’ll tell you. I was praying about this whole matter one day and I realized that a car is something to use to bring people to Jesus.” And so, he said “I’ve been taking people up to such and such a place so they can hear the gospel. On different Sundays, I’ll fill up the car with people and I’ll take them up to hear the gospel, some of them getting saved.” Now, there is what we’re talking about; holiness of life is your whole life set aside for God to use. Do you use your car for the Lord? Do you use your telephone for the Lord?

Very simple matter to use your telephone for the Lord, when you talk with someone and you sense that there’s a burden say, let’s have a prayer together and you pray with that person on the phone. You’d be amazed what the Lord will do. I’ve lead people to Jesus on the telephone. As a matter of fact there’s a missionary in Japan who was lead to Christ on the phone, and many years ago, went on and got her education, went out to Japan and is still effective as a missionary there in that Land of the Rising Sun. Use your telephone, use your car, use your home.

Child Evangelism has been putting on some extra promotion these days lately asking people to open their homes during the summer for a Bible Club. A five-day Bible Club where the kids in the neighborhood will come to your house and hear stories and songs and Bible games, and get a chance to get acquainted with the Lord Jesus.

See, holiness is not a tag that you wear. It’s a commitment of your life. Holiness is simply being set aside for God to use your voice, your hands, your home, your car, your telephone, your typewriter, your computer, whatever. Set aside for God to use.

Why? Because everything else is going to be gone. That’s why he said seeing then that all; he didn’t say some. He said all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holiness. See? Do you follow that? And this is not something that has to do with a pious exterior. I know some very holy people who are also capable of a hearty laugh and maybe even of a practical joke now and again. You don’t have to be a gloomy, sad officially pious or religious-looking person in order to be holy.

What has to happen is that every part of your lifestyle is given to our Lord to use for eternal matters so that you’ll be able to see the results of that someday in eternity. Do you want to give some thought to that in your own life? I know I can improve. Oh boy can I. I know I can improve on how my life is used by our Lord, and I’m sure the same must be true of you, my beloved friend. What manner of persons, why? Because it will all be gone that for which we strive and on which we lavish our time and energy and money, all be gone one of these days.

The only thing that will be left will be that which is eternal in nature. So, I want to be holy, I want my life, all of it to be set aside for God to use. Then, he uses the word godliness and that, of course, is the quality of God in your life. A little different, a little different approach. Godly, who kind of a person is a godly person? The person who has the presence of God in his life. Now how does that come about? Well, it starts with committing yourself to the Lord in faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the start of it. But if you’ve never done that, no chance in the world if you’re ever being godly.

You need to come to your blessed Lord and say, “God be merciful to me a sinner and save me now for Jesus’ sake.” Pray the prayer of the publican. Pray the prayer that gets you committed to God’s mercy. That’s where it starts. And then presence of God becomes real through prayer and Word, (His Word) and obedience. And we’ll get to that the next time we get together.

Dear Father today, make us holy people, heavenly people in Jesus name I ask it. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!